Eketahuna dealt thin end of wedge

Eketahuna appear to have been dealt a bum hand in the Manawatu premier division women's rugby competition.
Automatic qualification for the grand final was being anticipated after their upset 34-20 win over the strongly-favoured Kia Toa at Eketahuna last Saturday but Manawatu officials have decided otherwise.
Instead of having second-placed Eketahuna play top seeds Linton Army in the competition decider this weekend they will meet Kia Toa again in what this time will be a semi-final encounter.
And, what's more, even though Eketahuna have a higher seeding than Kia Toa on the points table the latter will have the home advantage.
Eketahuna coach Cory Miller said his side had approached last Saturday's game on the basis that victory would mean a spot in the grand final was guaranteed
"That was certainly the impression we were under so be told afterwards that wasn't the case was very disappointing," he said. "Obviously we are not happy about the ways things have panned out but what can we do, they (Manawatu) make the rules, we don't."
Miller was, however, delighted with the way Eketahuna comfortably despatched a full strength Kia Toa in last weekend's match despite conceding a couple of early tries.
With Kia Toa having a noticeable advantage in size, particularly up front, the game plan for Eketahuna was to spend as little time as possible in the set pieces with the idea of running Kia Toa off their feet.
"We didn't see any sense in attacking them around the fringes of the scrums or mauls, we had to move the ball wider and have the loosies linking up with the midfield," Miller said. "The quicker the tempo of the game the better it had to suit us."
The key part of the match for Eketahuna was a 15-minute period in the second half when they ran in four tries, and opened up a sizeable lead on the scoreboard. Kia Toa did find a new lease of life towards the end but by then Eketahuna had the game in safe keeping. Loose forwards Perri Tatana and Emma Aldworth were outstanding for Eketahuna, running powerfully on attack and defending just as resolutely on defence. Hard-working prop Tanya McGregor was another pack member to shine. In the backs New Zealand Maori sevens representative Dayna Reiri and former Black Fern Rebecca Hull gave Eketahuna solidity in the five-eighths and Diamond Pauli was typically assertive in everything she did at centre. The sound positional play and determined counter attacking of Michele Clarke at fullback was another plus for the locals. Coach Miller is confident Eketahuna can beat Kia Toa again in the semis although he concedes any chance of them catching their opposition off guard had disappeared because of last Saturday's outcome. "We know they will be hurting and desperate to reverse that result, it's going to be one hell of a game," he said.